Self-Organizing Societies
We ordered our first chickens from a hatchery catalogue. They were delivered by mail in a small cardboard box, tightly packed so that they would stay warm. The box had holes in it so they could breathe. The postman did not bring them to the house. The post office called at 5:00am and said “Please hurry! Come over and get your chickens”. They did not want to feel responsible for keeping live animals. My wife answered the phone and drove to the post office. She laughed about how eager they were to be rid of them.
At first they were kept in a larger cardboard box. It was lined with newspaper and a little hay, so that it could be cleaned more easily. We supplied all of the things recommended by the hatchery catalogue. A brood lamp hung above for them to huddle under for warmth. It had enough room on each side so that they could escape the heat when they were too warm. If the lamp was in a corner or too close to a wall, some might have been trapped by the huddling brood and suffocated. They were given a waterer and two feed trays, one for starter feed and one for grit.
Of course the box was not suitable for very long. It was small and needed to be cleaned often. Very soon we moved them to a small cage that I had built outside. It was a wood frame wrapped in chicken wire, a box four feet long, two feet deep, and sixteen inches tall. It was on legs four feet high, off of the ground to protect them from predators, and had a hinged top with latches. We moved their water, feed, grit, and brood lamp with them.
They grew quickly and no longer needed the lamp for heat. The cage was small and the growing birds became crowded. They seemed nervous, pecked each other, pulled feathers, and occasionally left open sores. People often say that chickens are cannibals. In commercial production their beaks are removed so that they don’t injure and kill each other. We remembered an advertisement from the chicken supply catalogue for a debeaker. It read…..” Debeak your chickens before the worst happens!!!” When ordering the birds we had discussed whether or not debeaking is necessary and decided to risk not doing it. Now though we were beginning to wonder if it was true that chickens must have their beaks removed to avoid injury. As an emergency measure I used a pair of scissors to trim a tiny amount from the sharp point. I did not like the idea of using a debeaker to severely cut and burn the beak so that it would not regrow normally. The birds would have been deformed for the rest of their lives.
I knew that I was negligent, not having yet built a larger pen. I hastily made a new cage, eight feet by eight feet. It was covered in chicken wire with a roosting perch off of the ground and soil below as its floor. The violence ended. They now had adequate room and spent time scratching the ground, searching instead of being bored.
Later that Summer I built a more substantial chicken house, larger with nesting boxes, a roost, and a wire cage outdoor run. The hens cooperated in nest building. Chickens tend to lay eggs in communal nest. When a nest is started, with eggs already in it, the other hens will add their own eggs to the clutch. Whenever they started a nest on the ground we moved the eggs to a nest box to encourage laying there.
Eventually one of the girls becomes broody and will set for days on end, staying on the nest, seldom getting up to find food or water. You may begin to think she never leaves, but if you watch, especially during the hottest part of the day, you may catch her eating and drinking. She runs to and from her nest not risking it being unguarded for very long. She often turns the eggs, reaching under to move and resettle them with her beak.
When the eggs have hatched, the mother hen fluffs her feathers, keeping the chicks warm until their feathers dry. She opens her wings standing just high enough so that the chicks can move around. They occasionally peak out from below. When one or two chicks become adventurous, the mother begins to move from place to place. The chicks stay near to her and often retreat under her wing for warmth and protection. This is where they spend the cold night.
She teaches them to feed themselves by scratching the ground with her feet. When she finds something she will peck the ground calling their attention. They run to the place and copy her motion to feed themselves. If she finds something too large she will tear it into smaller pieces with her beak so they can manage to eat. The chicks follow their mother hen while nearby hens watch and warn of danger.
Lax Management Lessons
The wire cage outdoor run attached to the chicken house was a good way for the chickens to have more room, but chickens eat a lot. By now we knew that there was no danger of them running away when they escape their cage, so we began to leave the door open during the day. The birds wandered in the yard foraging. They found bugs, grass, seeds, and other plants to eat. They were very happy to be free to range, and kept busy all day finding more variety and better quality foodstuffs than we could ever supply. They turned their heads with quick jerks. Chickens are well suited to see sudden motion. We were also happy, not needing to supply as much feed. In the evening we shut the chicken house door to guard against predators. In the morning we reopened the door to let the birds work for a living.
Sometimes predators broke in even though the door was closed and latched. Animals found weak rusted parts of the chicken wire, or dug underneath a wall to kill and eat the almost defenseless birds. It was sad and discouraging to lose a chicken this way. We patched old wire and reinforced the undersides of walls with cinderblocks or boards to prevent tunneling. We set traps where predators were known to break in, but sometimes it took several tries to catch the thief. When they knew where chickens could be found they came back, determined to find the weaknesses of our defense.
Occasionally we even forgot to close the door. When a predator visited the open chicken coup and the commotion was heard, we ran outside in the night and found that our chickens had fled the coup. They would scatter, running in every direction through the yard. They hid in bushes and flew up into the branches of nearby trees. When confinement fails to protect them it also impairs their ability to escape danger.
After the birds had gained more freedom, we began to notice that the rooster was sharing food finds with his hens. He also scratched the ground, not eating but let his hens eat first. He even tore and scattered the larger pieces for them, much like the hens do while caring for their chicks. This is how he attracted so many girlfriends. If there was a corner to turn, or an open door to explore, our brave rooster went through first. He looked for danger before calling his hens to join him. Hens have the extra burden of hatching eggs and raising chicks. He did what he could to help the flock succeed.
At times we lost birds to predators or old age. Sometimes they hatched eggs or we bought new chicks. When they were few their range was small. They stayed close to home. When the flock grew their range also grew. They wandered farther from the roost foraging. Once when they were very few, one rooster and only four hens, I noticed the rooster searching for nesting sites and building nests so that the few remaining hens could spend more time feeding themselves.
Once, a single white chick was found wandering alone in the yard. We didn’t even know there was a nest, and never found evidence of where one had been. None of the hens were acting as his mother, so we brought it into the house for protection. We put it in a cardboard box, fed and watered it there.
When it grew large enough to escape from the box, we put it outside during the day, and brought it back inside to spend the night in the box. It followed us around during the day instead of following the other chickens. It grew even more and so was left outside during the night. It chose to roost in a tree near the front door. Sometimes it rode on one of our shoulders. It would fly up from the ground to perch there. This amused us. Eventually it started jumping from the shoulder up to the top of the head. What a funny bird! It then started grabbing hair with its beak and pulling. This was also very amusing, and we wondered what it thought it was doing. When he began squatting, and rubbing his tail against our heads we realized what was happening. The poor bird was confused. He didn’t know that he was a chicken, and was looking for a mate. After this we no longer allowed him to climb onto our shoulders or heads. He was seen mounting inanimate objects. He pursued a cat that would have nothing to do with him. He did his chicken dance, holding one wing open, curved down, while prancing in a tight circle. He then mounted a stick on the ground. He was still confused. His instincts were developing but he had no idea how these urges fit into the life of a chicken.
After many frustrating days, he was seen scratching and pecking the ground near some grain, in the same way that roosters call hens to their company. It worked! A hen ran over thinking that he was willing to share. As soon as she began to eat he attacked her and chased her away from his food. He was getting closer, but still a confused bird. Not long after that though; he found his place in chicken society. He had hens of his own to nurture. They willingly followed him around. He became a successful rooster, much like all the birds around him in every way except one. He would often pause contemplatively to make eye contact with his human family.
Later that year we ordered guineafowl. The keets came by mail in a box, just like the chickens had. We kept them in the same small wire cage that was first used for chickens. They were more excitable than chickens. They ran back and forth in the cage as a group. After they grew a little and became crowded, I built a tall chicken wire corral around the cage so they could be let out to roam and scratch the ground while being kept safe in the pen. With this fence completed, I opened the box expecting them to jump to the ground to enjoy their new freedom. Instead a few jumped onto the edge of the box, then suddenly they all flew into treetops outside of the corral, not to the ground as I had imagined. It looked like our guineas might run away from home at their first chance. They were in the treetops all around calling loudly to each other. Fortunately, like chickens that always come home to roost, they soon tried to reconverge on the box where they had been raised. They flew to the ground outside of the corral but could not get back inside. They ran back and forth calling loudly. I opened the wire fence and chased them until they found the opening. Realizing that the pen was a bad idea I took it down.
If you ever get guineas you should raise them where you hope they will roost at night. This is the place they come back to forever. For all the years that we kept guineas, every night they returned to the trees near the chicken house.
It seems that anyone who has kept guineafowl will tell you that they are very stupid animals. The keets will drown in the waterer. The mother will run as fast as she can until all of her keets are lost in the tall grass. They cannot keep up with her. Even though they fly well, a small group will be seen running back and forth excitedly at the base of a fence looking for a way to pass through. It does not seem to matter how often they have crossed this same fence. They do have a loud call, in the early morning, evening, or whenever something excites them. This is why some say they make good watchdogs. We got them because they are known to eat a lot of ticks and insects.
We also told stories about how incredibly stupid these birds are. We knew that if they were allowed to raise their own keets that all of them would be lost. Whenever we wanted to hatch new guineas we took the eggs and put them under a broody chicken. The mother hen would hatch the guinea eggs and successfully raise the keets as if they were her own chicks.
In this way we managed to increase their number from seventeen to thirty-seven. That year something changed. They no longer seemed stupid. They all roosted in the same place, in the trees near where the original cage had been years earlier. Each day they divided themselves into two groups that patrolled the grounds separately, calling back and forth to keep track of each other, and warning of any danger that was spotted. Somehow they were no longer seen struggling to cross fence lines. Each group would at times take flight, altogether flying low, moving to some other place five-hundred feet or more away. They attended their nest in pairs, one setting while the other stood guard at some distance nearby. You could find a nest by spotting a guard. It would try to distract any person or animal, by drawing attention to itself and running away from the nest. While nesting the whole group would disperse a bit, patrolling the grounds and calling back and forth, keeping track of the others location and warning of any perceived threat.
After the keets hatched, the mother guinea hen still raced about with the keets running behind as fast as they could to keep up. Now instead of losing them all one at a time, they were flanked on either side by the ample number of other guineafowl, all guarding the keets so that they were not lost in the chase.
Guineafowl are known as terribly stupid animals, but when there are enough of them in one place, they behave in ways that remind me of crows. Crows are known for their great intelligence.
Both guineafowl and chickens are born equipped with behavioral tendencies that serve the continuation and wellbeing of their own kind. These instincts are adequate and suited to their form but are also molded by environment and the reactions of animals around them. With appropriate conditions constructive behaviors manifest.
Though it is seldom seen in captivity, with adequate range and ample numbers guineafoul become remarkably well organized. Chickens with ample room and opportunity become more cooperative. Those that are cramped and bored are more violent. They are like criminals desperately struggling for dominance and survival.
Conditions similar to anorexia nervosa in humans are also seen in commercial pork production. These self-starvation wasting disorders are associated with crowding, with management that is disruptive of maternal relations, or is disruptive of established social hierarchy. Much like overcrowded chickens being debeaked, instead of accommodations being made for their contented wellbeing, the pigs symptoms are treated with antipsychotic drugs.
Is it possible that some apparently destructive aberrant behaviors are desperate natural defenses? Perhaps it is a way to delay fertility until some future time when circumstance favors raising young successfully, or maybe it is a way that some individuals sacrifice their own potential, thus making room for the remnant to thrive. Is it also possible that when humans are kept in an inappropriately managed environment that our behaviors no longer serve us well?
Restraining animals can be challenging, but unique human abilities make it possible. Animals instinctively manage their environment, but we as masters of design have many possibilities to explore. This mastery becomes an arrogant folly when human nature is expected to conform to design. Those who become keepers of mankind are not vastly superior to other people. Often animal welfare is only a priority to the extent that it will serve the convenience and needs of the keepers. Are human leaders also self-serving?
A dilemma of leaders is how to maintain dominance even though many of the herd are equal to or better than themselves. This invites competition from among the herd. Striving to better themselves has limited potential with uncertain results. They become desperate to maintain control and must diminish our potential instead. Deceit is an effective tactic. It makes us unable to know what is in our own best interest. Insecurity makes us dependent. Battle lines are drawn, and though we did not choose the fight we dutifully choose sides. We thereby waste our time and strength. When we are misled, deprived of energy, deprived of our own capacity for self-reliance, and are induced to fight among ourselves, rulers remain secure. Their legitimacy is protected.
Are we also equipped with instincts that serve us well in favorable conditions?
No chicken will ever choose debeaking, not for its own good, not even for the wellbeing of the flock. Guineas do not seek solitude or separate themselves into small isolated groups.
When society is systematically engineered, resources needed to support distractions and maintain conflict are not the only cost. Standards geared toward control become necessary. Benefits of systemization may be grossly overstated. Even when competing methods are not explicitly forbidden resources are dominated by compulsory support for official solutions. Much like the doctor who prescribes more drugs to control side effects from other drugs, the systems’ failures become excuses to expand its’ own authority. Hidden opportunity cost, and wasteful, even destructive, burdens grow while decision makers continue to be rewarded.
“But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant”
Self-serving rulers may never be concerned by the cost of maintaining control as long as the system offers rewards greater than their own energy and ability could sustain. This current debasing condition essentially makes human effort into a harvestable crop. Better leaders would risk their own resources, leading by example not by force or deceit. Successes would be imitated and multiplied, and failures self- limiting. Instead of submitting to self-aggrandizing masters; we should all become masters, first of ourselves, then in humility, with patience, and as servants of those that the bonds of nature and circumstance have placed within our own sphere. Unless we find contentment that does not depend on dominance or forced outcomes we become aspiring tyrants. We in humility must accept that our example may not be adopted. It may be altered. It may even become a needed counterexample. With patience we must continue to strive, not knowing when or even if our example will be adopted. We may not even live long enough to see our project bear fruit. As servants we must not force others to bear the cost of implementing our own designs.
The first part of this work focused on observations of chickens. One well known behavioral tendency was never mentioned. Roosters fight, sometimes even to death. One bird can serve a great many hens. At times we have removed young roosters that were coming of age and fighting for dominance. We wanted to keep our slower old favorite alive. With enough hens and range, multiple roosters can coexist by keeping apart, each one trying to attract hens. On occasion we have seen the less dominate bird move some distance away into the woods after having recruited a few loyal hens. This reminds me of beekeeping. A beehive has only one egg laying female. New colonies are generated when a new stronger queen is created. After fighting, the old queen leaves with a swarm of workers that are still loyal to her. They search for a place to establish the new colony. Often people cite animal violence as justification for war and other destructive behavior. They claim that because it is natural it is an unavoidable necessity. I am hopeful for better possibilities. We manage the lives of animals according to our own priorities. Some conditions promote cooperation and meaningful order. Less favorable circumstances provoke desperate survival tactics. Periodically replacing rulers with a new set of ambitious people is a gratifying but ineffective way to promote human wellbeing. We must not wait for solutions or opportunities given by others. We should take matters into our own hands. While setting our own examples, remember that creating conditions suited for the noblest qualities of human nature may be more effective than just naming desirable outcomes. We can work toward a stable peace with prosperity.